


Saving Grace: Jason's Eyes

by Selene_Eleganza



Series: Talon! [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Canon-Typical Violence, Court of Owls, Dick Grayson Kills Joker (DCU), Dick Grayson is a Talon, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Jason Todd, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is Robin, Protective Dick Grayson, Romani Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29812065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selene_Eleganza/pseuds/Selene_Eleganza
Summary: Robin was supposed to stay put. But when he heard a struggle in an alley nearby, he left his position.And then Robin woke up in the middle of an empty warehouse with the Joker. So, no, Jason's not having a fun time.But when someone comes to the rescue, it's not who Jason would have expected. It wasn't Batman or Batgirl.It was aTalon.-Companion to another of my works, Saving Grace. Can be read as a stand-alone.-
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Series: Talon! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188506
Comments: 4
Kudos: 203





	Saving Grace: Jason's Eyes

It had only been for a  _ moment. _

Batman had told Robin to stay put while he checked something out and Jason hadn’t seen a problem with that. Batman would be back in a moment and frankly, Jason wasn’t well-suited for what B had in mind anyway. No sweat off Jason’s back. Robin would stay put.

But then there had been a familiar sound of a scuffle an alley away. The sound of a struggle.

Batman told Robin to stay put, but there was someone  _ right over there _ that needed help.

So Robin dashed across the rooftops and dropped into the alley, knocking out a man trying to keep a woman pinned to the wall. He reached down to tie the dude up when he felt the electric shock.

Robin cried out, twisting around and away in a movement made spastic by the electricity. The woman was staring at him intently, a grin on her face and a taser gun held tight in her hands. The barbed prongs were currently embedded in the back of his suit.

Robin’s stomach dropped.  _ It was a set-up. _

He scrambled to his feet to get the weapon out of her hands, but the distance between her hand and the controls was  _ much _ shorter than the distance between the two of them. Electricity surged again and he dropped like a stone.

_ ‘Oh,’ _ Robin thought,  _ ‘Batman’s gonna be  _ **_pissed_ ** _.’ _

Then there was a laugh, a pain to his head, and then that was it.

  
  
  
  
  


When he woke up, it was to aching pain radiating throughout his body and a throbbing in his head.

Electricity  _ sucked _ . Getting kicked in the head  _ sucked. _

Robin opened his eyes slowly, almost flinching at the face staring back at him.

Green hair, pale face, crazed eyes, and a sickeningly wide smile. He was staring at the Joker.

And the lens in one side of his domino had shattered and fallen out at some point, so he couldn’t even pretend he was still unconscious.

Oh, this was just  _ awesome _ .

“Good morning, little birdie,” the Joker crowed. “Are you ready to have some fun with Uncle J?”

“Pass,” Robin grumbled. “I’ve actually got a really busy schedule.”

The Joker giggled, making all the hair on Jason’s neck stand straight up. “Aw, all work and no play isn’t good for growing birdies! It’s a good thing we had it cleared, huh?” He reached out and patted Robin’s cheek. “Now we’re free to have some  _ fun _ instead.”

  
  
  
  


It was  _ not fun. _

  
  
  
  


Jason wasn’t sure how long the Joker beat on Robin. He just kicked him and hit him with a crowbar over and over, while Jason refused to scream. He wasn’t going to give the psycho anything more to have fun with.

“A or B?” he kept cackling. “Forehand, or backhand?”

But out of nowhere, the Joker stumbled with a scream of his own, dropping the crowbar on the floor by Jason’s shoulder and reaching back towards his own shoulder blade. He stumbled a little to the side, pulling a bloody knife from his shoulder.

The Joker stared at it a moment before dissolving into hysterical laughter. Jason scanned what he could see of the warehouse behind the Joker, but all he could see were shadows.

_ “Beware The Court of Owls, that watches all the time, _ ” the clown recited, sounding positively deranged. Joker turned his eyes around the warehouse in search of his attacker, not seeming to see anything more than Jason could.  _ “Ruling Gotham from a shadow perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them or they'll send The Talon for your head.’" _ The Joker giggled some more. "Now what does the Court of Owls want with little old me?”

Robin’s blood froze in his veins, finally getting a good look of the knife in his hand as the Joker turned. A very  _ familiar knife. _

Something shifted slightly in the darkness, catching Robin’s attention. His eyes snapped to it, watching in slowly rising fear as two gleaming golden eyes caught the light. Dear god, were they  _ reflective?  _ Did they  _ glow? _ Did the Talon have  _ night vision? _

“The Court of Owls is dead, Jester,” the Talon said, his voice a cold and detached tenor. “No one sends the Talon but the Talon. The Court of Owls has not sentenced you to die tonight.”

Robin didn’t know how to feel about that, but he didn’t dare move. He just stared at the Talon with wide eyes. The assassin’s eyes flicked in his direction for a short moment and he forgot how to breathe until the Talon looked back at the Joker.

The clown tittered. “Have you joined in on the fun, little Talon? Have you come to see a little birdie bleed?”

The Talon moved in a flash, too quickly for the crazy Rogue to evade. Two more knives flew within an instant, embedding themselves in the Joker’s knees, sending him down with screams and a few sharp snaps that Robin didn’t want to think too hard about.

This… this wasn’t right. Something wasn’t  _ right. _ In all the cases that Robin had seen with Batman where a Talon was involved, the kills were quick. This… the Talon was aiming to  _ hurt. _

The assassin dropped to the warehouse floor with a kind of deadly grace that looked smooth and effortless. He stalked slowly towards where the Joker was still laid out in his pain, stepping into the light as he came closer to both the clown and Robin himself.

But when Jason caught sight of the Talon’s face, a new sense of horror immobilized him.

Because that was  _ Dick Grayson. Dick Grayson was the Talon. _

He was too pale and his eyes were that terrifying, unnatural gold instead of bright blue, but even grown there was no mistaking that face.

So distracted by the sound of his own panicked thoughts, Jason didn’t notice that the Joker was reaching for him until one of the Talon’s knives-  _ Dick’s knives _ \- embedded itself in the man’s outstretched hand.

The Talon’s face was ice as he taunted the Joker. “A, or B?” he asked, voice cold as he punctuated the B by spiking a knife into the clown’s foot. The Joker screamed. Then he turned to face his attacker, only to freeze at the sight of the Talon.

There was no way that the Joker  _ didn’t _ recognize him, not when he had used Dick to taunt Bruce Wayne a few months after his disappearance.

The Talon crouched down in front of prey, and suddenly Jason was glad that he couldn’t see the clown’s face. “Joker, I sentence you to die.”

The Talon flicked his wrist and it was over. The Joker fell dead to the floor.

After a short moment, the Talon turned to stare at Robin. Shit, was he next? The Talon didn’t leave witnesses. Dick Grayson was going to kill him and Bruce would never know.

“Jason Todd,” the Talon said softly, and  _ oh god, he knew his name. Oh, fuck. _ Something shifted in his gold eyes and Robin stiffened, bracing himself for the rest of the sentence.

_ ‘I sentence you to die.’ _

“It’s time to get you home,” the Talon said instead, straightening up and approaching slowly on careful feet. With every step, his movements grew less lethal. Once he got close enough, the Talon knelt next to Robin’s ribs and pulled a knife from the strap on his chest.

Robin stopped breathing. This was it, this was where he got stabbed. But the Talon paused, his eyes training on Robin’s still chest before flicking up to his face to stare into his exposed eye. “Breathe, Little Wing,” he soothed, a taloned hand coming up to gently brush hair out of Jason’s face. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, soft and warm.

‘Little Wing’? Oh god, was he going to take Jason as a Talon apprentice or something?

The Talon refocused, flipping his knife into a reverse grip and-

-cutting through Robin’s bindings. His ankles, then his wrists. Robin didn’t dare move until the Talon was finished, until the assassin leaned back onto his heels and slipped his knife back onto his chest. Robin pulled his arms and legs in as much as his injuries would allow, making himself a smaller target. He was too hurt to run, and frankly he wouldn’t get anywhere if he tried. The Talon studied his movements critically. Like he was scanning for injuries. B would do the same thing-

Wait. Jason took a moment and reevaluated the Talon’s actions since the moment after he killed the Joker. He wasn’t  _ acting  _ like an assassin, he was acting like…

“Dick?” Jason tried, unsure suddenly who he was talking to.

He glanced up at Jason’s face, eyes skimming the edges of his mask near the broken lens. Noting bruises? His gaze finally flicked back to Jason’s eye and stayed there. “It’s good to meet you, little brother. Although I wish it was under better circumstances. Is your comm or your beacon working?”

Uh. What? Jason.exe has stopped working. Would you like to send a crash report to Bruce Wayne? Yes. Hm. Bruce Wayne unavailable. Would you like to send a crash report to Alfred Pennyworth?  _ Please. _ Alfred Pennyworth unavailable.

Jason shook his head, refocusing on the question. No, his comms and beacon were shot. Crushed and fried by the taser, respectively.

The Talon- Dick? He hummed in a considering way, his head bobbing slightly to the side like an owl before a small, idle smirk slipped onto his face. It was quite possibly, altogether, one of the most terrifying things Jason had ever seen. Talon-Dick seemed to know that, reaching up a hand to pet at Jason’s hair and run his taloned fingers carefully across his scalp.

“No hospitals,” Talon-Dick mused softly, “and Leslie’s is too far. But Gotham PD’s very own Bat Signal shouldn’t be too much, right Little Wing?”

Jason didn’t say anything, focused instead on keeping very still and trying to figure out if the person in front of him was more Talon of the Court of Owls or Dick Grayson. Both? Neither? Some options were better than others, and Jason didn’t know what he was dealing with here.

Talon-Dick shrugged, seeming to accept Jason’s non-answer as what it was. “Not like you really have a choice. We’ve got to call Batman somehow, and screaming his name in the streets is more likely to gather the wrong attention. So to the Signal we go.”

The assassin carefully scooped Robin into his arms, leaving his bloodied knives behind and slipping right out the door. They walked in silence the whole way, aside from a few hisses and unavoidable whimpers of pain from Jason every once in a while. They typically earned him an apologetic glance, but Jason ignored those. While they added evidence in favor of Jason’s theory, they didn’t do anything for the pain. Which was, no matter how he sliced it, not Dick’s fault. He was going to be in pain any way he was carried. And walking wasn’t an option.

With Dick maneuvering them, they seemed to melt into the shadows far more effectively than Jason ever could on his own. And Jason was trained by Batman, so he wasn’t exactly a slouch in the melting-into-shadows department. When you wore such a bright uniform, you had to learn to compensate.

Wait, now that Dick wasn’t dead, could Jason blame Dick for the suit design without feeling guilty about it?

Before much longer, they made it to the top of the precinct. Jason watched warily as Dick set him against the base of the light, moved to the fuse box, turned on the signal, and then barred the door. Then Dick came back and settled himself next to Jason before pulling Jason’s head down and into his lap. Before the current Robin could so much as blink, the Talon’s clawed gloves were back in his hair, careful finger pads punning methodically over his scalp in search of damage.

Once he seemed satisfied that there wasn’t anything of concern, Dick started dragging his talons carefully across his scalp while he carded through his hair, humming some kind of lullaby with words that were clearly foreign and half-remembered.

Dick was Romani, Jason remembered. Every once in a while Dick’s face would twitch in displeasure when he ran out of words, and Jason filed it away. Between Dick’s idle song and the hands in his hair- not to mention the concussion Jason probably had- he was having a bit of trouble keeping himself awake now that he didn’t think that he was about to be stabbed. Dick was quick to catch him slipping and kept him conscious.

After a while, there was a familiar sound of boots hitting the roof and Jason shifted his head to get a look.

Batman landed, his gaze easily zeroing in on Robin’s position. He tensed, shifting as if to move forward, before seeming to register the fact that Jason was being held by a Talon and absolutely  _ freezing. _

Oh. Jason glanced up a Dick, noting that his face was turned towards Jason only and his black hair shielded his features from the Bat’s eyes. Jason looked back towards Batman, noting the tension lining every muscle in the man’s body.

A very battered Robin’s head was being held in the Talon’s lap, easily within striking range. Jason could see how this looked alarming.

“I found something of yours, Batman,” Dick said, still looking down at Jason’s face. Jason glanced cautiously between the Talon and Batman again. Dick ghosted a hand over some of his injuries. “The Joker had him. Warehouse near Robinson Square. Bastard probably thought he was being funny. His comms and beacon were broken, so I figured the next best thing was the Signal.” He finally picked up his head to stare at their adoptive father, Jason following suit.

Batman was frozen, and even with the cowl on you could read the distress on his face.

“It’s good to see you,” Dick said softly.

“Dick,” Bruce croaked out- and  _ wow _ , that voice was all Bruce, even in the cowl. “ _ Dick _ .”

Dick looked back to Jason, gathering him carefully back up in his arms. “We can talk in the Cave, B. Robin’s hurt. At least a few broken bones, probable concussion, but I can’t tell the extent of the damage with the suit on.” He stood fluidly, walking them both up their mentor.

Bruce just stared for a moment before reaching out a gloved hand as if to check what he was seeing was real. He brushed some of Dick’s hair aside like Dick had done to Jason not that long ago.

Dick was almost as tall as Bruce, Jason noticed. That must be a trip for Bruce, Jason thought a little hysterically. And for Dick too, probably.

Bruce shifted his attention down to Jason, scanning him in much the same way as Dick had back in the warehouse. He reached a hand up to brush the hair out of Jason’s face. What was with everyone and the hair tonight? It was nice, but this was clearly a theme.

“Jay-lad, I’m glad you’re alright.”

And  _ oh, _ there was a lot in that statement. The fear and relief all rolled into one. Bruce had been  _ terrified, _ Jason realized.

They moved down to the Batmobile and Dick climbed into the back with Jason, listening quietly and still playing with Jason’s hair as Robin gave a sanitized report of the night to Batman.

Jason skipped over the part where Dick had drawn out the kill. Bruce would figure that out when they found the body anyway. Hell, he skipped over the fact that the Joker was dead entirely, although he was sure that Bruce guessed as much. They didn’t talk about that, either.

As they approached the tunnel to the Batcave, Dick spoke up for the first time in the ride.

“Did anyone warn Alfred?”

There was a conspicuous silence in the car.

_ “Bruce,” _ Dick chided.

Jason cracked a grin up at his brother.  _ Brother _ . “He probably didn’t know what to say,” he joked.

Dick smirked down at him. “Oh, I’m gonna  _ like _ you, Little Wing.”

Bruce let out a long-suffering sigh that was just a touch too exaggerated to be real. “What will I do with you two,” he intoned fondly.

A complicated expression flitted across Dick’s face, and at first Jason was afraid that it meant Dick didn’t plan to stay. But then Dick smiled warmly, and he figured it was going to be okay.

They pulled into the Batcave and Dick carried Jason out, marveling quietly at the changes he could see while on his way to the medical bay. Alfred turned at the sound of approaching footsteps from where he’d been looking at something on the monitors.

“Master Bruce, Barbara-” he caught sight of Jason and Dick and gasped, bringing a hand up to his chest.

“Hey, Alfie,” Jason called weakly, an honest smile on his face. “Look who I found!”

Alfred looked between all three of his boys, clearly torn on whether to be concerned about Jason, irritated at Bruce’s lack of warning, wonder at the fact that Dick was standing in the Batcave, or everything that came with recognizing the suit he wore.

“Master Jason, I’m glad that you’re more or less in one piece,” Alfred said, somewhat faint. “Master Dick, welcome home. It’s wonderful to see you well.”

Dick sent him a smile that was somewhere between amused, sad, and wry as he laid Jason carefully out on the bed. Jason filed that away for later, too, and he could see Bruce and Alfred do the same.

“I missed you, Alfred,” Dick said quietly.

  
  
  
  
  


The next few hours passed by quickly. Barbara was called and told the search was over, but she was asked not to come to the cave tonight. Nothing was said about Dick, and Jason hoped that they knew what they were doing in not telling her yet. Either way, Jason silently washed his hands of it.

Jason was checked with every piece of medical equipment they had in the cave. Thankfully there was nothing that he would need an immediate doctor for, so he wouldn’t have to go see Leslie until tomorrow. Little mercies.

The rest of the time was spent listening to Bruce and Alfred carefully coax some of Dick’s story out of him. He was treated like he could be easily spooked, which Jason could tell amused him and annoyed him in turn.

Eventually there was a clattering from the vehicle bay. Bruce immediately snapped into an alert position while Alfred shifted to attention and Jason did what he could in his state. I wasn’t much.

Dick, oddly enough, just sighed. It sounded exasperated and fond. “Jig’s up, Owlet,” he called. “Come out of there.” Dick turned and watched as a kid a year or two younger than Jason shifted to peek around the edge of the Batmobile.

“Hi,” ‘Owlet’ said quietly.

“Tim,” Dick started slowly. “I never told you where the Cave was. Or how to get in.”

Tim blinked at Dick with large, guileless eyes. Jason narrowed his eyes disbelievingly on principle. The kid’s face was familiar, but where…

“I saw the news,” the boy said in way of explanation. “Batman was running around the city like a man possessed and Robin was nowhere to be seen. The Joker’s goons were causing havoc, but not the Joker himself. That meant that the Joker had Robin, which meant  _ you _ were going to get him.”

Dick nodded. “Point. But that doesn’t explain how you got in here.”

Tim, the ‘Owlet’, stayed silent for a moment before pointing his thumb behind him. “I can go…”

Dick tossed his head up to stare skywards in exasperation. “Good  _ god. _ You’re already here. Might as well stay. I’m sure Bruce, Jason, and Alfred have questions.” He looked back down and hit Tim with a deadpan stare. “I don’t know if it’s _ possible _ for me to go gray, but  _ god _ do you try, Owlet. You’re lucky I love you.”

Tim grinned shakily at him, giving him weak finger guns in the face of the Batclan staring full-force behind Dick. It finally clicked in Jason’s head where he’d seen this kid before.

“...is that  _ Tim Drake?” _ Jason squeaked out.

Dick turned back to his family with a winning smile that frankly looked quite alarming paired with his unnatural complexion and gleaming gold eyes. “It  _ is, _ Little Wing. Turns out the next door neighbor figured me out when he was nine. And, in extension, all of _ you _ . Batclan and more.” When Bruce’s expression shuttered in shock, Dick winked. “Don’t worry. He hasn’t told a soul, aside from me anyway, and those were… extenuating circumstances.”

He threw an arm around Tim while the boy turned red. “In fact, I found him because I was stalking Batman and Robin and noticed there was someone else trailing in your shadows,” he teased. “Batman and Robin, the masters of stealth, followed unseen by a fourteen-year old boy for several years,  _ unaware. _ ”

Jason, for another time that night, absolutely  _ bluescreened.  _ Little Timmy Drake. Tim knew their identities.  _ He’d known them for years. What the fuck. _ His brain looped back around to the beginning of this insane conversation.  _ He found and snuck into the Batcave. Holy hell. _

Jason exploded into noise, startling the bats in the cave while he started interrogating Tim and Dick good-naturedly. Because,  _ what? _ He needed to know everything.

And he saw how Dick was draped over that kid’s shoulder. Dick had called Jason his little brother, but it looked to Jason like he just might be getting one too.

Jason had always wanted a little brother.

And as Dick and Tim fessed up, Jason realized that getting kidnapped sucks. Getting beat up sucks. The Joker  _ sucked. _

But this?

He could get used to this.


End file.
